The Ref (Hostile Hostages in some countries) is a 1994 American black comedy film directed by Ted Demme, written by Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss, and starring Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey. The plot centers on a burglar who, while evading capture from the police, is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve. The burglar finds himself having to act as a de facto marriage counselor, or "referee", between the squabbling husband and wife, a situation that becomes more complicated when the husband's relatives drop by for Christmas dinner.

The film was released on March 11, 1994 and was a box office disappointment, though positive reviews praised its dark humor, dialogue, and performances. It later found a wider audience through home video and cable television airings, becoming a cult movie and an alternative to traditional Christmas movies during the holiday season.

Production

Richard LaGravenese co-wrote the film with his sister-in-law Marie Weiss. Weiss began writing the script in 1989 after she and her husband moved from New York to California. Inspiration came from an argument she had with him and she thought, "Wouldn't it be great if there were a third party to step in and referee?" The studio cast Leary based on the sarcastic funny-man persona he cultivated in MTV spots that Demme directed. Their involvement motivated LaGravenese to come back to the project.

After test audiences responded poorly to the film's original ending—Gus turns himself in to show Jesse that a life of crime leads nowhere quickly—a new ending was shot in January 1994. with its widest release in 861 theaters. "They did me like the MTV guy. And they shortchanged what the movie was all about," he said. Leary made fun of himself in a humorous article written for a 1995 issue of Playboy where he pretends to interview Pope John Paul II. Leary asks the Pope if he has seen The Ref, and the Pope responds that he was told it was very vulgar, as evident by its unpopularity.

Critical reception

On Metacritic, the film has an average weighted score of 59 out of 100 based on 27 critics' reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

Caryn James of The New York Times called it "a grown-up film that delights in undermining Christmas cliches." The Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan said "its comic venom is refreshing for as long as it lasts". Jeff Shannon of The Seattle Times said "the Australian Davis - for my money the finest actress around, bar none - is simply uncanny in her command of East Coast gentility combined with razor-sharp timing and comedic expression". Of Leary, James wrote, "Here he has subtly wiped the abrasiveness away from his [stand-up] style without making Gus seem mushy. For the first time he displays his appeal and potential as an actor instead of a comic with a sneering persona". Rolling Stones Peter Travers praised the performances of Spacey and Davis, saying "They are combustibly funny, finding nuance even in nonsense. The script is crass; the actors never." Glenn Kenny of Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade of "A−", writing The Ref features "some of the sharpest dialogue heard in a Hollywood flick since the heyday of Hecht and MacArthur" and that "this nasty romp delivers so many honest laughs, you may end up watching it twice in the same night to make sure you weren't hallucinating".

Negative reviews opined that the film's biting humor goes too far and that the movie "can't sustain its defiantly misanthropic tone". Owen Gleiberman, also of Entertainment Weekly, gave the film a "C−" rating and wrote, "The Ref is crushingly blunt-witted and monotonous in its celebration of domestic sadism." In his review for The Washington Post, Hal Hinson criticized Leary's performance: "A stand-up comic trying to translate his impatient, hipster editorializing to the big screen, he doesn't have the modulation of a trained actor, only one speed (fast) and one mode of attack (loud)."

The film was among 500 nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list. Entertainment Weekly ranked the film at No. 51 in its list "61 Best Movies You've Never Seen."

In 2016, Jason Bailey wrote of the film for Flavorwire: "It was, if anything, a film ahead of its time; its cynical attitude towards the holidays predates Bad Santa by nearly a decade (and there are numerous other echoes of that film in this one), and its expert pivots between comedy and drama are more early 21st century than late 20th." Eric Walkuski of JoBlo called it "a Christmas movie for people who don't like Christmas movies, if you will".

Year-end lists

  • Top 10 (not ranked) – Betsy Pickle, Knoxville News-Sentinel
  • Best "sleepers" (not ranked) – Dennis King, Tulsa World
  • "The second 10" (not ranked) – Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune
  • Dishonorable mention – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  • Dishonorable mention – Dan Craft, The Pantagraph

Home media

The Ref was released on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on March 4, 2003.

See also

  • List of Christmas films

References

  • The Ref script